Two armed men carted off a quantity of cash and stripped staff of their valuables yesterday when they attacked the High Street, Kingston office of Universal Travel Service and Tour Company.
The robbery occurred at approximately 12.30 pm yesterday. According to the manager, Alvin Changur, the men grabbed a quantity of foreign and local cash and stripped everyone of their jewellery, cellular phones and other valuables.
During the five-minute ordeal one of the gunmen, who wore a tope and sun shades, ordered the sales staff to stand along the wall, Changur explained. Another attacker then forced his way into the manager’s office and demanded the man give him cash.
“He come in here and put the gun to my head and ordered that I give him the cash…he escorted me to where the money was kept and ransacked the area until he got all the cash and cheques that were there,” Changur said.
Changur told Stabroek News that while no one was injured during the robbery they were still traumatized. When this newspaper visited the travel service’s office shortly after 2.30 pm yesterday staff were huddled together in small groups, many still shocked.
Further, the manager said that upon entering the office one of the robbers turned off their switchboard, disabling their office’s telephone system. The business, he said, is protected by MMC Security Service and a worker managed to hit the buzzer during the robbery.
However, as a result of the buzzer being triggered the security service contacted the cafeteria which is located behind the travel service in the same compound. Workers at the cafeteria were unaware of the robbery and told the MMC that everything was fine, Changur said.
“They took our cell phones, our wallets, and our jewellery and emptied visible purses,” the distressed manager explained. “Our technological security system failed us…management will have to discuss how we can improve our security,” Changur stated.
The police were informed about the matter, the manager further reported, and they have already taken necessary statements from the victims and an investigation has been launched in the matter.
